Overview

In September 1997, the first National Geographic Channels were launched in the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia.[2] In July 1998, National Geographic Channel Asia was launched in partnership and distribution with STAR TV (before replacing NBC Asia Channel; the same happened after NBC Europe's demise in 1998). Today, the channel is available in over 143 countries, seen in more than 160 million homes and in 25 languages.

Being the first country in Latin America to receive the channel, broadcasts from Brazil started substituting the independent channel Superstation channel on November 1, 2000 released by FOX Latin American Channels.[3] According to people connected to the channel, it was first launched in the country due to the sales success of the magazine National Geographic.[3]

In the United States, the National Geographic Channel, launched on January 12, 2001, is a joint venture of National Geographic Television & Film and Fox Cable Networks. National Geographic provides programming expertise and the Fox Networks Group provides its expertise on distribution, marketing, and advertising sales. In the same year a Latin American version of the channel was released.[3]

National Geographic Channel original logo used from 2001–2005

National Geographic Channel logo (2005–2016)

In Canada, the channel National Geographic (Canada) is owned by Corus Entertainment and National Geographic Channel U.S., while the European versions are operated in partnership with Fox's sister company, Sky plc, which had been partly sold to Fox in 2007. This includes an English-language version for the UK, Iceland and Republic of Ireland, which is carried on Sky, Virgin Media and TalkTalk TV in the UK, Sky, Virgin Media, Magnet Networks, SCTV in the Republic of Ireland and Skjarin in Iceland.

In South Africa, the channel is carried by Digital Satellite Television (also known as DStv) MultiChoice's multi-channel digital satellite television service in Africa. In the Middle East, an Arabic version is broadcasting free to air on Nilesat as National Geographic Abu Dhabi. It is co-owned by the National Geographic Society/Fox International Channels and Abu Dhabi Media Company. In India, the channel was launched on July 1, 1998, in a joint venture with STAR TV.

The ’90s: The Last Great Decade, a documentary series narrated by Rob Lowe, pulled in 1.10 million viewers, and was the second highest-rated July telecast in the National Geographic Channel rating history. The 2000s: A New Reality, also narrated by Lowe, premiered on July 12, 2015.[4]

On November 14, 2016, National Geographic Channel was rebranded as National Geographic, dropping the "Channel" from its name.

On December 14, 2017, in a historic deal valued at over $52 billion, The Walt Disney Company announced it will buy the majority of 21st Century Fox. Disney would assume control of Fox's stake in the National Geographic partnership.[5]

Theme fanfare music

The National Geographic Channel's signature theme fanfare music, which is played at the beginning of many of the channel's television programs, was composed by Elmer Bernstein. It was originally written in 1964 for the Society's television specials, which were broadcast on CBS, ABC, PBS and NBC from 1964 until the early 2000s.

Other National Geographic channels

Nat Geo Music

Designed to offer an alternative music video channel for both international and smaller independent local labels with a focus on cultural lyrics and rhythms. Nat Geo Music became available in Italy on October 15, 2007, and later it was broadcast around the world.[8]

Nat Geo Junior

Nat Geo Junior is available in Belgium, India, and the Netherlands and is formatted specifically for children. Nat Geo Junior is also featured as a programming block on the National Geographic Channel in Asia.[9]

National Geographic Channel HD

The United States 720phigh definition simulcast of the National Geographic Channel launched in January 2006. It is available on all major cable and satellite providers.

In Canada, the Canadian version of NGC HD launched on December 19, 2006. It is available nationally via the country's two satellite services, Shaw Direct on channel 276, Bell TV on channel 828, Videotron on channel 754, as well as on various digital cable systems.

In Australia, this channel has been available on the Foxtel HD+ service since July 1, 2008.

In Asia Pacific, this channel was the first channel to support 1080i HD and 5.1-channel surround sound. The channel was commercially available in Singapore via StarHub TV channel 457 on January 18, 2007, followed by Vietnam via Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC). It was also available exclusively on now TV channel 218 on December 19, 2007 in Hong Kong. Two years later, it became available as part of the initial bouquet of HD channels on Astro B.yond in Malaysia. In India, this channel has been available since February 2010. It is carried on Videocon d2h, Dish TV, Airtel Digital TV, Reliance Digital TV, Sun Direct HD, Hathway HD and TataSky+HD featuring multilingual support (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bengali), 1080i (full HD) and 5.1 surround sound.

In Albania, this channel has been available since 2007 on Digitalb platform, which is the biggest HD channel broadcaster in eastern Europe and Balkans, with 14 HD channels.

In Malaysia, this channel is available on Astro (Malaysian satellite television).

In Poland, this channel is available as of mid-2007 on Cyfra Plus platform with Polish and English soundtrack.

In Israel, this channel is available since late 2007 in HOT (cable) and yes (satellite).

In Slovakia, this channel is available since 2008 in digital TV product UPC Digital.

In Czech Republic, this channel is available since the spring of 2008 on digital cable from UPC Digital, channel 54. Both Czech and Slovak feeds of NGC HD were transmitted directly from the UK (Sky+ HD) and came with an English audio track only (DD/AC3). This was later changed and these countries now have the European feed, which was expected to be localized in the Czech language in the autumn of 2011. Since July 20, 2011, this channel is also available in both countries in Skylink.

In Turkey, this channel is available since 2008 on digital television provider Digiturk.

In Romania, this channel is available since February 1, 2010 on digital cable (DVB-C) from UPC Romania and since June 1, 2010 from RCS-RDS.

In Latin America, this channel started broadcasting from Miami in November 1, 2001. It's divided into six feeds (Mexico, Colombia, Argentinian/Rioplatense, Pan-American, Brasil and HD Pan-American). The National Geographic Channel 1080i simulcast was being broadcast along with the Fox HD channel from December 1, 2008 til June 2014, when the four-hour Fox programming block was picked up for an independent channel, leaving NatGeo HD with its own feed.

In Greece, this channel has been available since December 22, 2010 in NOVA Greece. Since May 8, 2014, this channel has been available for the second digital platform, OTE TV in Greece.

In Latvia,[10] this channel has been available since October 1, 2011. It can be viewed on Lattelecom and many cable networks.

In Iran, this channel has been available since October 15, 2011. It can be viewed on W3A - 10721h - Vertical - FEC 2/4.

In Indonesia, this channel is available on Skynindo, Indovision and First Media.

In the Philippines, National Geographic Channel HD can be seen on Cignal TV and other cable providers.

In the Middle East and North Africa, National Geographic Abu Dhabi HD has been available since March 1, 2015 and can be seen in free to air on nilesat.

Nat Geo People

Nat Geo People, formerly known as National Geographic Adventure and Adventure One (A1), commonly known as Nat Geo Adventure, is a subscription TV channel part of National Geographic Channels International and 21st Century Fox. It is aimed at younger audiences, providing programming based around outdoor adventure, travel and stories involving people having fun while exploring the world.

Nat Geo Wild

Nat Geo Wild (stylized as Nat Geo WILD or abbreviated as NGW) is a cable/satellite TV channel focused on animal-related programs. It is a sister network to National Geographic Channel and it is the latest channel to be jointly launched by the National Geographic Society and Fox Cable Networks. It first launched in Hong Kong on January 1, 2006, focusing primarily on wildlife and natural history programming. The channel later launched in the United Kingdom, Turkey, Ireland, Romania, India, Vietnam, and Poland replacing the now defunct Adventure One. The channel remains the world's first bilingual wildlife service, available in English and Cantonese in the Hong Kong market as well as Tagalog in the Philippines. The channel launched in Latin America on November 1, 2009 as a high definition channel. In 2010, it launched in the United States.

Archaeologists have protested that National Geographic shows such as Diggers and Nazi War Diggers promote the looting and destruction of archaeological sites by promoting the work of metal detecting souvenir hunters and collectable dealers.[14] In 2013 the National Geographic Channel set off a firestorm of controversy with its reality show Diggers. Professional archaeologists from the Society for Historical Archaeology, the largest scholarly group concerned with the archaeology of the modern world (A.D. 1400–present), roundly criticized the network for promoting the theft of cultural materials on public and private land.[15] The show Nazi War Diggers was accused of showing unscientific and disrespectful handling of human remains. A promotional quote from a military relic dealer, "I feel that by selling things that are Nazi-related and for lots of money, I am preserving things that museums don't want to deal with," was removed from the channel's website in March 2014. National Geographic expressed regret for how the series was presented by its own website but maintained that many of the accusations against the series were based on misinformation.[16] The program was subsequently pulled from the schedules while National Geographic reviewed allegations against the series.[17] The show was repackaged, amid controversy, as Battlefield Recovery for air during 2016 on Channel 5 in the UK.[18]